Police: Husband killed wife in apartment, then jumped to his death

When a child misbehaved, Samir Jemaaoui grabbed his wife’s breast, twisted her nipple and forced her into a closet. When his car was broken into, he choked her and covered her mouth.

On Monday Jemaaoui’s anger hit a crescendo, and the result was bloody and deadly: Less than 16 hours after stabbing his wife to death while her children were in the apartment, Jemaaoui leapt to his death from the 30th floor of a busy Miami condominium just a few miles from the murder scene.

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A source with knowledge of the murder and suicide said Jemaaoui, 36, “stabbed [Marx] multiple times, almost decapitated her.” The children, one 4, the other turning 7 on Wednesday, are now in custody of the Florida Department of Children & Families.

Public records reveal a tenuous and often violent relationship between Jemaaoui and the woman he married less than a year ago. It’s a relationship that law enforcement was well aware of.

Jemaaoui, who one law enforcement official said was a French national, first came to the attention of police last July. According to a Miami police report, after getting angry at his wife’s 6-year-old son, Jemaaoui grabbed her breast and twisted her nipple, then pinched her shoulder, grabbed her arm and pulled her into a closet.

As she tried to pack her belongings in her apartment at the Venetia Condominium in downtown Miami, Jemaaoui allegedly blurted out, “F--- you and your kids.” Then, the report says, he threatened to report the German woman who he said had no papers to immigration. Police arrested Jemaaoui and charged him with battery.

Information supplied by the state attorney shows that Marx was contacted five times before trial and that each time she refused to testify. She was also mailed several victim pamphlets.

“The state did not have a good faith basis to proceed to trial,” wrote Assistant State Attorney Nicole Mirmelli.

With the first confrontation resolved, the conflict between Jemaaoui and his wife only intensified by November, according to a North Bay Village police report. It was just before 10:30 p.m. Nov. 11 at the couple’s Treasure Drive apartment when “the defendant became angry after learning that his vehicle was broken into and choked the victim on three different occasions.”

Again Jemaaoui was arrested and charged with domestic battery. That case was unresolved when he killed his wife Monday, then took his own life on Tuesday.

Miami Beach police said they got a call at 7 p.m. Monday from security at the Flamingo Apartments, 1500 Bay Rd. Two young children had witnessed their mother being assaulted. When police arrived, they found Marx’s bloodied body in her second-floor apartment.

Police waited until 10 the following morning to post Jemaaoui’s picture on Twitter and say he was wanted for second-degree murder. Within an hour, according to people who live in The Grand at 1717 N. Bayshore Dr., Jemaaoui jumped from a balcony into an interior atrium from the 30th floor, landing on marble next to a fountain. The atrium is only accessible by residents. It was unclear Tuesday if he lived there or was visiting someone.

The body lay covered by white, bloody sheets until police arrived. It was about 2 p.m. when Miami Beach police positively identified Jemaaoui.

North Bay Village Manager Frank Rollason said Marx recently moved out of her apartment and that Jemaaoui may have moved back in with her in Miami Beach. He said the detective working the November battery had stayed in touch with Marx.

“He spoke to her recently,” Rollason said. “She said things were getting better.”